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Art Galleries

Explore the Galleries

The Exhibits Program at Tohono Chul presents visual stories linking the nature, culture, and arts of the Southwest. Focusing on the work of regional artists, we display vibrant works of art in a diverse array of thematic group exhibits. The charming adobe Exhibit House, built as a private home in 1937, is an ideal environment for visitors to view Southwestern artworks. 50% of all exhibit sales help fund programs at Tohono Chul.

 

Questions? Please contact the Exhibits Department, exhibits@tohonochul.org

Exhibitions currently on display

GROUP EXHIBITION

SONORAN HOURGLASS: Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular

  • Open through Nov. 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Main Gallery

Explore the fleeting transition of dusk and the shifting light, landscape, and rhythms of the Sonoran Desert.

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MIXED MEDIA / SCULPTURE

ZACH LIHATSH:
Bound

  • Open through Oct. 4, 2026
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Zach Lihatsh is the first artist to exhibit his work for Tohono Chul’s 2026/2027 Entry Gallery Project Space Season.

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WATERCOLOR

REBECCA WILDER: The Other Side | El Otro Lado

  • Open through Nov. 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

Rebecca Wilder’s watercolors explore the light, landscapes, and natural world of the borderlands.

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call for artists

Image credit (clockwise from left, details): Catherine Nash, Mikayla Hammock, and Karen Wright

SONORAN HOURGLASS:
Into the Inky night

  • Exhibition Dates: Nov. 19, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027
  • Submission Deadline: Oct. 12, 2026

Tohono Chul invites artists to submit work for Into the Inky Night, the final installment of the SONORAN HOURGLASS exhibition series. This exhibition turns its focus to the Sonoran Desert after dark, exploring the landscape, plants, animals, atmosphere, shadows, and rhythms that emerge beneath the night sky.

Artists may submit up to three completed works in any two- or three-dimensional media for consideration. Selected artists will be notified by October 19, 2026.

PROSPECTUS & SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Upcoming Exhibitions

DUO EXHIBITION

lANCE & KAREN BELL

  • October 10 – December 13
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Through Lance’s photographs of cactus landscapes and Karen’s intimate depictions of desert wildlife, the artists celebrate the Sonoran Desert’s beauty and fragility while emphasizing the need to preserve its ecosystems.

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FEATURED ARTIST

KELLY HOULE

  • November 19 – January 31
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

Butterflies, moths, birds, and beetles appear to rest on atmospheric abstract backgrounds inspired by the desert, exploring beauty, resilience, and transformation amid uncertainty.

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GROUP EXHIBITION

DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR PROJECT

  • October 31 – November 8
  • Exhibit House Patio

Explore altars honoring loved ones, created by Tucson artists and school groups, and add your own memories to our community ofrenda.

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Beyond the Galleries

Explore permanent collections, public art, and hidden artistic treasures that extend far beyond the gallery walls.

Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art

Tohono Chul’s Permanent Collection continues to grow with the acquisition of the Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art. One of the most significant gifts since Dick and Jean Wilson’s original collection, it offers rich opportunities for exhibitions and educational programming for years to come.

Art in the Gardens

Sculpture from Tohono Chul’s Permanent Collection including Mark Rossi, Fred Borcherdt, Kioko Mwitiki, David Weinert, Greg Corman, Ned Egan, along with work for sale by Tucson artists Joy Fox, Phil Lichtenhan, Tidhar Ozeri and more can be discovered throughout the gardens.

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Twilight Sonoran by Ignacio Garcia

Discover Twilight Sonoran, a vibrant mural by Tucson artist Ignacio Garcia celebrating the beauty and mystery of the Sonoran Desert after dark. The work brings the desert landscape to life through Garcia’s bold, imaginative style.

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Collections Corner

Over the years, unique vintage objects from five collections have been gifted but not accessioned into the Tohono Chul Permanent Collection and are now available for purchase. The Collections Corner helps support the gardens, galleries, and programs with 100% of each sale going directly to Tohono Chul. The Collections Corner offers a rare opportunity to acquire museum-quality artwork, jewelry, and objects.

Join Our Art Exhibits E-Mail Lists

To receive regular updates of our exhibitions and receptions, subscribe below and when prompted, select the Exhibition Announcements & Receptions email list.

NEWSLETTER

For Artists: To receive emails with exhibition opportunities including calls-for-entries, subscribe below and select the News and Opportunities for Artists email list.

FOR ARTISTS
Image: Details of works by Eduardo Palazuelos (top), Erinn Kennedy (bottom left), and Hannah Heaton (bottom right).

GROUP EXHIBITION

SONORAN HOURGLASS: Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular

  • Open through November 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Main Gallery

A day is composed of 24 hours; split in half, the cycle is equal parts day and night, twelve-hour intervals – heralded by the transitional phases of dawn and dusk. The exhibition series SONORAN HOURGLASS will survey how time moves over the Sonoran Desert in the most obvious and subtle of ways – through the air: the light, the temperature, the mood, the pressure – through the landscape: the creatures, the water, the plants, the earth – through the cosmos. Using abstract notions and temporal quotients of past, present, and future, the classic form and function of an hourglass hearkens time’s effect in slow dissolution or methodical accretion, lending a timeless tone and romance to this project.

If circadian rhythms direct existence, what happens during dusk? What kind of art will truly Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular (dusk)?

Concentrating on the timeframe of dusk and all its workings, Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular is the third installment in the series, SONORAN HOURGLASS.

Image: Zach Lihatsh

mIXED MEDIA / SCULPTURE

ZACH LIHATSH: Bound

  • Open through October 4, 2026
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Zach Lihatsh is the first artist to exhibit his work for Tohono Chul’s 2026/2027 Entry Gallery Project Space Season.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Human existence is in opposition to the natural world. The modern human animal; wholly destroys, pollutes and consumes. Modern civilization takes its toll and devours the very thing that should be revered as its womb of life. To be born into this world, is to be forced into this contradiction.

We are compelled to live in ignorance or walk with an innate discomfort. Our inability to hold our discomfort and grief compels interpersonal conflicts, whether that be generational trauma, abuse, the many forms of addiction or our ability to no longer function socially. I seek to zoom in and examine this conflict. To identify the dividing lines of tensions. To create a space to sit with the discomfort as a form of mediation. Not only to reconcile the turmoil, but to find peace and beauty within it. To live with the awareness of our own demise means an awareness to do good and make change. But we must find peace in order to operate as agents of positive change. To find harmony within conflict. 

I gather influence from bonsai, textiles, and BDSM. Wood, reeds, grasses, and natural material,  retain a feminine strength in juxtaposition to forged and fabricated steel. These are the materials selected to dance between conflict and harmony. This is the series I call; ‘Bound’”.

 

Image (cropped): Rebecca Wilder

WATERCOLOR

REBECCA WILDER: The Other Side | El Otro Lado

  • Open through November 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

Rebecca Wilder is a painter, designer, and book artist. She was raised in the Us – Mexico borderlands and currently lives with her husband in the Sonoran Desert and the mountains of Colorado.

“I’m fascinated by the light, large horizons, skies, and the magic of the natural world. Painting is my way into what Denise Levertov describes as ‘the parallel world, where we lose track of time and our own self-concerns.’”

The watercolor paintings exhibited are from her book, The Other Side. This book is a beautifully illustrated true story of overcoming fear and discovering trust.

Image: Lance Bell & Karen Bell

mIXED MEDIA / pHOTOGRAPHY

Lance Bell & Karen Bell

  • Open October 10 – December 13, 2026
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Lance & Karen Bell are the second artists to exhibit their work for Tohono Chul’s 2026/2027 Entry Gallery Project Space Season.

ARTIST STATEMENT

This is the most sublime place on earth. The extreme clarity of the desert light, the extreme delicacy, and severity of the environment, all overlayed in the same time continuum. The peaceful quality of the Sonoran Desert is what resonates with us humans, as we try and immerse ourselves into this peace, and bond with the unique qualities of this diverse desert. Our art is all about these qualities of the Sonoran Desert and its fragility and the need to preserve its ecosystems. Lance’s photographs embody the uniqueness of the cactus landscapes of the Sonoran Desert and the need for preservation. Karen’s work brings the viewer up close and captures the delicate nature of the reptiles, amphibians, insects and bats of the Sonoran Desert.

Our work together showcases the need for a conscious effort to preserve Sonoran Desert as its future is continually threatened.

 

Image (cropped): Kelly Houle

FEATURED ARTIST

KELLY HOULE

  • Open November 19 – January 31
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

ARTIST STATEMENT

Atmospheric abstract backgrounds inspired by desert light, weather, urban surfaces, and shifting seasons become habitats for highly detailed trompe l’oeil butterflies, moths, birds, and beetles that appear to rest upon the paintings themselves, casting shadows and momentarily blurring the boundary between art and life. 

These living subjects function as both individuals and symbols—reminders that beauty, resilience, and transformation continue to emerge even in fractured or uncertain environments.

GROUP EXHIBITION

DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR PROJECT

  • Open November 19 – January 31
  • Exhibit House Patio

Opening during Tohono Chul’s Chiles, Chocolate & Day of the Dead Festival on October 31, this exhibit honors the lives and memories of loved ones through colorful artwork, handmade altars, and personal ofrendas created by Tucson artists and students. Displayed throughout the Exhibit House Patio, these tributes share stories of love, loss, and remembrance, inviting visitors to reflect on the people who continue to shape our lives.

Visitors are also invited to contribute recuerdos (remembrances) honoring their own loved ones to our community altar. These offerings will be taken to Tucson’s All Souls Procession on Sunday, November 8, 2026, to be burned during the Burning of the Urn Ceremony—a shared act of remembrance that brings our community’s tributes together.

Participating Schools: Roskruge Bilingual K–8, Safford K–8, Salpointe Catholic High School, Catalina High School

Featured Artists: Aimee Smythe, Jen Casados, Antonio C. Estrada & Gloria J. Valenzuela, Dawn Hollins, Elisa Salgado, Sandy Luna, Mel Thomason, Morgiana Correa, Patricia & Adam Silva, Royce Davenport